Cal Crutchlow has undergone successful surgery on the broken collarbone sustained at the British Grand Prix last weekend, but is still unsure when he will return to racing.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider was ready to battle for a grid position at his home grand prix, but suffered an accident in the early stages of qualifying, landing heavily on his left shoulder. The doctors later discovered that he had broken his left collarbone in five places, as well as suffered a concussion.
Crutchlow had a titanium plate and several screws inserted in the shoulder in an operation carried out by specialist surgeon Doctor David Clark at the Royal Derby Hospital.
Surgery on the damaged collarbone was delayed while Crutchlow was assessed for a neck injury suffered in the crash, an injury that has affected him in the past. Initial checks at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford showed a suspected non-displacement fracture of his C2 vertebrae. But CAT scans showed no damage to his neck, and he was immediately transferred to the Royal Derby Hospital for surgery on his left collarbone.
The recovery process has already begun for Crutchlow, who is going through intense physiotherapy, but the 25 year old is not yet able to predict when he will be back in action.
“The operation on my collarbone was a success and the doctors seem really happy with the outcome. But I am still in a lot of pain. Unfortunately, the break is a lot worse than the one my team-mate Colin Edwards had in Catalunya and I’ve got different pain and movement levels. And I’ve spent two days lying on my back with a suspected neck injury, so my shoulder just got swollen.”
“I am not very happy that this happened to me in my home race at Silverstone when things were going really well for the weekend. I don’t know if I will ride in Assen. We will have to wait and see, but I’ll be trying 100 per cent to be there if I can.”
Crutchlow is in a race against time to be fit for the Dutch TT at Assen next weekend. The race in the Netherlands is the first of four in five weeks, so the Briton will be keen to return for the busiest stretch of the season.
